a ary | The workers of Leningrad in 1963, workers accounted for 23.7 percent of the total number of deputies. In 1967 the percent- age was 25.7. Here it will not be out of place to note that there is not a single industrial worker in the present U.S. Congress, in the Bundestag of the F.R.G., nor in the parliaments of many other capitalist countries. THE ROLE AND TASKS OF A : Workers nPosium of Leningrad . Was recently held under bev , of World Marxist ining’ 1s part of a con- th petody of the WMR on | dass in tions of the working oe erent countries. anadia me Of the interest of ditions ee the concrete con- : Women i working men and I start “RE World’s first social- Xan,’ Ve are reprinting some TRAD ttn gige®O™ that study. The 7HE ENON e Yssion is available in “The Congress holds that the role of the trade unions in ful- Mangigt 1969 issue of World filling the tasks of economic de- ible #1 Review which is obtain- & Adelaie” Progress Books, | at ae St. West, Toronto (le issues) Copy or $3.50 a year Worker : Stay, PARTICIPATION IN Re ADMINISTRATION Dle’s p OViets of Working Peo- loindareetties are the political Power jg 4 f the U.S.S.R.. Soviet 78 Peon © power of the work- ing i Addressing the work- {Ober Ple shortly after the Oc- ki te Lenin said: Clf » that now you your- Your N at the helm of state eats fear are from now on leisy’ Of state authority, tty» 4 bodies with full pow- b agp) “lected Works, Vol. 26, ———— Sta thin authority in the Soviet Viets twat by the So- Les tro Orking People’s Depu- of the i the Supreme Soviet and city ‘SR. to the local town ber of Y Soviets. The total num- Stviets cputies elected to these Pong enceeds two million. The the deput of workers among Soviets ties elected to the local The x !n 1967 was 29.6 percent. dren pues elected to the Su- 839 yooviet in 1962 included the tele or 23.5 percent of 404 Work Tn 1966 the figure was the €rs, or 26.6 percent of Elect Number of deputies Of ho the Supreme Soviets Ynion republics, elected velopment must be elevated and their more active participation secured in drawing up state plans and in production manage- ment. It is up to the trade unions to promote the socialist emula- tion movement, improve educa- tional work among the people and to show greater concern for the organization of labor and the living conditions of factory and Fo sig Wie 2 << . "abbere® mechanized production of reinforced concrete piles and a Seq] Some Leningrad engineers have developed a special stand, © model of which is shown above. Built in Leningrad, the above fishing base Vostok has factories abroad in which 300 tons of fish can be processed in 24 hours. office workers.” — (From the Resolution of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU) A. Kondratenko said that trade unionists from capitalist coun- tries sometimes refer to a “lack of rights” of Soviet trade unions, saying that they are mere appen- dages of the administration. That is not true, she said. As in any other Soviet enterprise, SO at the Skorokhod Footwear Fac- tory, Lenin’s slogan, ‘The trade unions are a school of commun- ism,” has a tangible and concrete content. The trade union branch a; participates in production mat- ters and in the life of the enter- prise. : The relationship and mutual responsibility of thé administra- tion and the workers are regu- lated by the annual collective agreement. One of the tasks of the trade union, Kondratenko said, is organizing socialist emu- lation and cultivating communist ideals among its membership. In the Skorokhod Factory nearly all groups of workers take part in the emulation movement. The results of the emulation between the 100 shops and 600 produc- tion sectors, comprising more than 19,000 workers, are added up monthly. The trade union branch determines the best work- ers, encourages them and dis- seminates their techniques. The unions have a big say in the matter of work quotas, labor organization and wages. No new quotas can be introduced with- out the trade union’s agreement. When production quotas are re- vised due to technical innova- tions or for any other’ reason, the matter is handled by the shop branch. All work regulations and sche- dules need trade union endorse- ment. When the factory switch- ed to the five-day week, for ex- ample, the new work schedule ~ was discussed at workers’ meet- ings. Not until all suggestions were studied was the schedule finalized. Question: What is a collective agreement, what items does it cover, how is it concluded? A. Kondratenko: The annual collective agreement, usually concluded at the beginning of the year, is a document recording the mutual obligations of the administration and the factory force. On behalf of the workers it is signed by the trade union committee. The Skorokhod Factory col- lective agreement consists of eight sections, though that dif- fers from enterprise to enter- prise. Section I, entitled “The State Plan and the Socialist Emula- tion Movement,” contains the specific responsibilities of the administration and the trade union with regard to plan ful- filment and promotion of social- ist emulation. Section II concerns wages and other emoluments, and work quotas. It lists the hourly wages for different jobs, depending on the workers’ grading. Section III tabulates the ad- ministration’s obligations relat- ing to the training and re-train- ing of workers, technicians, engineers and office. employees. Section IV deals with ques- tions of labor discipline. Section V concerns labor safe- ty, listing the measures to which the administration is committed in order to improve working conditions, ensure greater safe- ty, provide working clothes, etc. Section VI lists. the adminis- tration’s undertakings concern- ing workers’ housing, house re- pairs and improvement of public catering. It also stipulates trade union control. Section VII contains commit- ments concerning educational and cultural work, physical cul- ture and sport. — Section VIII sets out the pro- cedure of amending agreement articles, and the provisions for control and verification, and the like. FAMILY INCOME V. Morozova said that hers is more or less a typical work- ing class family in both compo- sition and income. Her husband works in a designing institution. Their two children go to school. The husband’s monthly salary is 160 rubles, the wife makes from 90 to 115 rubles a month. Thus the family’s monthly in- come averages 250 to 260 rubles. The family occupies a modern two-room flat. The monthly rent is 3.71 rubles. Electricity and New apartment blocks are being built to house the workers Leningrad. gas are cheap: gas costs 15 ko- peks a month per person and electricity, four kopeks per kilo- watt hour. Food costs the family 130 to 140 rubles a month. The children get hot breakfasts at school which cost 7.60 rubles a month. With two days per week off, the family has adequate oppor- tunities for rest and recreation. The factory trade union com- mittee supplies free accommo- dation in one-day holiday homes. In summer those who wish to go mushrooming, to fish or hunt are taken out by bus free of charge. Father and mother are entitled to yearly paid holidays. Their two children go to a childrens’ camp every year. T. Abushkevich: A worker’s family income is made up of wages and various benefits granted from public consump- tion funds. Her son goes to school. Her daughter is in a nur- sery, which costs the family 150 rubles a year, while the state pays another 250 rubles. Low- paid workers are charged 48 rubles by the nursery and the state pays the remainder. x Abushkevich herself attends an evening technical school at state expense. Besides, the factory al- lows her as a student one paid day off every week and a paid leave for the examinations. In summer T. Abushkevich’s son goes to a children’s camp. The fee is from 60 to 70 rubles per month, but she only pays nine rubles. Some workers’ child- ren go to the camp free of charge. Her small daughter spends the summer in the coun- try. Her stay there costs the state from 35 to 46 rubles a month, of which her parents pay only 12.50 rubles. A worker who is taken ill gets full pay if he has been employ- ed not less than eight years or is disabled, 80 percent with five to eight years’ service, 60 per cent with three to five years’ service or if under age, and 50 percent with less than three years’ length of service. The monthly income of T. Abushkevich’s family consists of her own pay, 160 rubles, her husband’s, 200 rubles, and her mother’s pension, 30 rubles, and so adds up to 390 rubles. T. Abushkevich estimates that her family derives benefits from pub- lic consumption funds amount- ing to 44 rubles a month (part payment for the nursery, the son’s school education, rest and recreation). Expenditures: taxes 35 rubles; rent, electricity, etc., 13 rubles; nursery fee 12.5 ru- bles; food, clothing, various ser- vices, savings, etc., 330 rubles. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 30, 1969—Page 9 it Mires th Be 5A 4